21-Year-Old Australian Wakes Up From Coma Speaking Fluent Chinese, Now A TV Star
An Australian university student who slipped into a coma after a horrific car crash, awoke to find out that he was now able to speak Chinese fluently.
Ben McMahon suffered serious head injuries after the accident, which occurred near his home in Melbourne, Australia, last year. The 21-year-old was in a coma for a week, but when he managed to recover the first words to his nurse were in Mandarin.
Ben stated, “Most of it’s hazy, but when I woke up seeing a Chinese nurse, I though I was in China. It was like a dream. It was surreal, it was like my brain was in one place but my body in another.”
He went to add, “I just started speaking Chinese, they were the first words that left my mouth.”
Mr McMahon had studied Chinese in high school, but despite the fact that he never managed to perfect the language he has adapted it as his native tongue since the car crash 17 months ago, to the point that he now uses it daily in his profession.
Ben is now the anchor of a Chinese variety talk show that will air in Australia next year. Au My Ga, which translates to Oh My God, has filmed twelve episodes in Mr McMahon’s home town and is aiming to bridge the “relationship” between the two cultures.
Ben McMahon continues, “The show aims to promote and advance the understanding between Australia and China. I think that is the key, it signifies a big step towards creating stronger ties, while providing a local perspective.”
Discussing his recovery from the coma, Ben added, “After the coma, I had to sleep quite a lot; however, fortunately enough, apart from that and a couple of scars, I am lucky.” Ben McMahon also provide Chinese language tours across Melbourne too.
